VZCZCXYZ0015
OO RUEHWEB

DE RUEHBU #1775/01 2491752
ZNR UUUUU ZZH
O 061752Z SEP 07 ZDK
FM AMEMBASSY BUENOS AIRES
TO RUEHC/SECSTATE WASHDC IMMEDIATE 9158
INFO RHMFISS/CDR USSOCOM MACDILL AFB FL//SCJ2//
RULGPUA/USCOMSOLANT

UNCLAS BUENOS AIRES 001775 
 
SIPDIS 
 
STATE FOR INR/R/MR, I/GWHA, WHA, WHA/PDA, WHA/BSC, 
WHA/EPSC 
CDR USSOCOM FOR J-2 IAD/LAMA 
 
SIPDIS 
 
E.O. 12958: N/A 
TAGS: KPAO OPRC KMDR PREL
SUBJECT: MEDIA REACTION; TERRORISM; GLOBALIZATION AND ARGENTINA; 
PRESS FREEDOM IN ARGENTINA; 09/06/07; BUENOS AIRES 
 
 
¶1. SUMMARY STATEMENT 
 
Leading international stories today include Europe's expected 
reaction to the threat posed by terrorism; how Argentina should 
manage globalization in order to fully "deploy its potential for 
development;" and the Argentine Supreme Court's verdict on 
government spending in the media. 
 
¶2. OPINION PIECES AND EDITORIALS 
 
- "A challenge that places Europe at a crossroads" 
 
Silvia Pisani, daily-of-record "La Nacisn's" Madrid-based 
correspondent, writes (09/06) "If there is something everyone knows 
in Europe it's that the terrorist threat is real. What does not seem 
to be so clear is whether Europeans are willing to change their 
lifestyle and enormous respect for privacy in order to improve 
'security'... 
 
"The series of (terrorist) attacks and attempts is enough proof that 
Europe is a declared target of this international scourge... 
 
"Additionally, there are common points between yesterday's aborted 
terrorist attacks in Germany and those that occurred the day before 
yesterday in Denmark. Both have been attributed to Al Qaeda and the 
lead is in remote Pakistan, where Osama bin Laden, the feared leader 
of Al Qaeda, is hiding. 
 
"Many analysts hinted that terrorists could be organizing a 
spectacular attack against the US on the anniversary of the 
September 11 attacks. German police pointed out that it had detected 
more activity than normal among Islamist groups. 
 
"... And faced with the question 'Why is Europe a target of 
terrorism?,' most believe there are two reasons - one, European 
reticence to sacrifice personal rights, and the other, greater 
openness of European borders vis-`-vis those of the US... 
 
"Experts believe that it still is much easier to enter Europe than 
the US... 
 
"In contrast, there are those who believe that terrorist attacks 
against Europe are fed by the discontent of ethnic and religious 
minorities, who feel discriminated against. 
 
"The case would be the opposite of the US, traditionally considered 
the land of opportunity for immigrants. Nevertheless, it is possible 
that since the September 11 attacks, things are neither very open in 
the US nor exclusive in Europe. 
 
"What is clear is that Europe is a target of terrorism, its people 
know it and, perhaps, the basic question is what Europe is willing 
to lose in exchange for better security, if it is willing to lose 
anything." 
 
- "How Argentina should manage globalization" 
 
Business-financial "BAE" ("Buenos Aires Econsmico") front-pages an 
opinion piece by its editor-in-chief, Dr Aldo Ferrer, who writes 
(09/06) "Neo-liberals believe that an irreversible transfer of power 
has taken place in the world. Currently, financial markets, 
multinational corporations and the governments of a small number of 
powerful industrialized countries (first of all, the US) are 
reported to be the ones who have the power to decide how to 
distribute income and allot resources in world economy. 
 
"As a consequence, globalization would be made up of a number of 
trade, investment and finance networks managed by those who hold 
power. In this framework, 'peripheral' countries are reported to 
have lost the ability to decide about their own fate - in other 
words, reportedly, they may not decide how to manage globalization 
and plan their own development and insertion in the world. 
 
"... Argentina was the country that took this approach to the 
extreme in managing its economic and international policies. It 
began implementation with the 1976 military coup d'etat and the 
entire process ended with the decisions made during the '90s... Such 
a stance culminated in the 2001/2002 economic meltdown... 
 
"... Experience reveals that globalization can be managed to (every 
country's) benefit while broadening ties to the world economy, as 
demonstrated by Asian emerging economies such as Korea, Taiwan and 
Malaysia and, in a gigantic dimension, by China and India. 
 
"Managing globalization is necessary to meeting Argentina's economic 
potential and holding a equal, not subordinate, position in 
international relations. For such a purpose it is indispensable to 
 
have the house in order.  All countries successfully deploying their 
potential for development in the world maintain strong fiscal 
solvency, as well as a surplus in the current account of their 
balance of payments, a high level of real international reserves 
(not based on debt), monetary systems based on their national 
currency, exchange types sustaining profitable export goods... 
 
"... However, managing globalization not only calls for keeping the 
house in order, but also expanding it through investment and 
sustained accumulation of technology, management capability and 
creative synergy between the public and private sectors, all of 
which is based on increasing domestic savings... 
 
"In this new stage, (Argentina) should establish, along the lines of 
successful countries, institutions and regimes that boost savings in 
order to be able to meet its economic potential... 
 
"... Countries should be built from inside and not the other way 
round, as previous governments attempted here with the consequences 
everyone has seen." 
 
- "Limits are set on (Argentine) Governmental (media) publicity" 
 
Daily-of-record "La Nacisn" front-pages an opinion piece by lawyer 
Adrin Ventura, who writes (09/06) "The (Argentine) Supreme Court of 
Justice decided that the Government may not eliminate or 
substantially reduce the publicity it assigns to mass media in an 
arbitrary or unreasonable way. 
 
"The Supreme Court's verdict supported the position of the 'Ro 
Negro' newspaper in its complaint against Neuqun Governor Jorge 
Sobisch because in 2003 he decided to reduce official publicity 
assigned to the paper because it had revealed an alleged corruption 
case. 
 
"The judicial decision goes beyond the provincial case - in recent 
years, many governments not only increased their publicity budgets 
but made arbitrary decisions regarding its (press publicity) 
distribution and used public funds to punish some independent 
media. 
 
"Constitutionalist lawyer Gregorio Badeni, a lawyer from ADEPA 
(Asociacisn de Entidades Periodsticas Argentinas) (Argentine 
Association Journalistic Institutions), said that 'the verdict is 
most important because it changes the Court's case law and forbids 
the Government to behave in a discretionary manner vis-a-vis the 
mass media.' 
 
"... Regardless of the impact of the case in the province, which 
will have to submit a plan for the distribution of its publicity 
budget to the Federal Court within thirty days, the verdict includes 
general principles of protection for the mass media's freedom of 
expression vis-`-vis the Government abuse at a time when several 
provinces as well as the Federal Government are accused of using 
public funds in a discretionary way." 
 
To see more Buenos Aires reporting, visit our 
classified website at: 
http://www.state.sqov.gov/p/wha/buenosaires 
 
WAYNE